Here's a pepper with a wide range of hotness and a broad spectrum of reasons to love it. On the milder end, it's like a Jalapeno. On the hotter side, it's like a Cayenne. It's easy to grow, works well in containers, and is a real beauty from start to finish. 75-90 days.

An African-American heirloom that's been around since the middle of the 1800s, the Fish hot pepper is as versatile in taste as it is intriguing in appearance. The peppers have a range of 5,000-30,000 units on the Scoville heat scale, so they can be on the milder side next to Jalapenos or quite a few levels higher alongside the Cayenne. This variety's mottled white and green foliage also makes it stand out, so it's a stellar pick for adding some interest to your garden or growing in a variety of containers. The plants will grow to about 2 feet tall and will bear numerous peppers 2-3 inches long, all of them showing off quite a color range as they mature - green at the start, orange a bit later, and finally a gradient of reddish browns when really ripe and hot (the pepper's color at this stage is very fitting as it looks as fiery as it tastes!).